Pumpkin Ice Cream, Jeni Style

Creamy and flavorful, Pumpkin Ice Cream is a tasty fall dessert of snack with a little extra nutrition thrown in!

Pumpkin Ice Cream is one of my favorite fall treats!  Usually I head to Baskin Robbins, but sometimes I make my own.  

I love the idea of controlling the ingredients in homemade ice cream.  Organic cream, real pumpkin, NO carrageenan.  And how many desserts have good dose of vitamin A?  

I start eating pumpkin ice cream in September and don’t quit until Thanksgiving!  Yes, it’s a good thing that it’s (relatively) healthy! 

What is the biggest homemade ice cream challenge? 

Anyone who’s eaten homemade ice cream probably knows what I’m about to say.  It’s that fact that homemade ice cream is amazing when scooped right out of the machine.  But put the leftovers in the freezer and the next day, they end up rock hard and icy.  Not fun.

That’s because ice cream relies on a mysterious proper ratio of fats to liquids to thickeners.   

And here’s where the theory behind Jeni Britton Bauer’s ice cream comes in.  Besides providing complete tested recipes, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home discusses how to keep homemade ice cream from getting too hard and too full of ice crystals.  It’s what I based this ice cream on!

Yes, a godsend for picky ice cream addicts.

Why You’ll Love This!

Tasty.  Combine the great flavors of pumpkin (with spice) and ice cream and you have a perfect fall dessert!

Ingredient Control.  Want to go organic? Avoid corn syrup or carrageenan?  Since you’re in charge it’s all possible.

Healthier.  I love it when I can get (even a little bit of) vegetables or fruit in my dessert!

What You’ll Need

Ingredient Notes

• Canned pumpkin puree.  This provides the pumpkin flavor.
• Brown sugar.  This adds sweetness.
• Light corn syrup or golden syrup.  This adds sweetness and helps prevent crystalization.
• Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg.  This adds pumpkin spice flavor.
• Skim milk, cream.  These are the main ice cream base ingredients.
• Salt.  Enhances flavor.
• Sugar.  This adds sweetness.
• Cornstarch.  This helps thicken and reduce iciness.
• Cream cheese.  This helps thicken and reduce iciness.
• Dark rum (optional).  This adds flavor and helps the ice cream stay softer.

Special Tools

•  Ice Cream Freezer.  To freeze the ice cream. 

Step by Step Directions

Prepare cornstarch slurry.  Whisk cream cheese.

Prepare Pumpkin Mixture. Combine and cook pumpkin, brown sugar, corn syrup and spices.

Prepare Ice Cream Base. Combine and cook skim milk, salt, cream sugar and corn syrup.

Stir the pumpkin puree mixture and cornstarch slurry into the ice cream base, then return to heat.

Gradually add to the softened cream cheese, whisking to avoid lumping. Mix in rum if using.

Chill until cool. Freeze according to your machine’s directions.

Use of Corn Syrup or Golden Syrup

I did make one change from the official Jeni method in that I allow the option to use golden syrup instead of corn syrup.   

Golden syrup is what they usually use in Britain where US cooks use light corn syrup.  It is made from sugar rather than corn but is supposed to have the same beneficial properties in cooking and candy making—things like reducing crystallization.   

I have made this recipe both ways and the final ice creamm was slightly harder with the golden syrup–though this could have been due to other factors.  I used different brands of both canned pumpkin and cream cheese so it wasn’t a controlled test.  But even slightly harder, it was deeliciious (I did leave it out briefly before eating) and I had no problems with ice crystals.

So if you are a GMO avoider, you can go with organic corn syrup (organic standards don’t permit the use of GMOs)–or give golden syrup a try.  I’ll be testing some of my candies with golden syrup this fall and updating the recipes so stay tuned!

How to Serve

This ice cream makes a delicious dessert or snack.  And there are so many ways you can serve it!

The easiest is simply to scoop it into a parfait dish and enjoy.  Perhaps top with a sprig of mint.  Or some whipped cream and crushed nuts or graham crumbs.  Just. Plain. Yum.

Of course your kids will probably want this in a cone.  Can’t beat that either!

Now since we had just come back from England with some lovely (chocolate topped) digestive biscuits, it wasn’t long before I’d used those to make an ice cream sandwich. 

And finally, I think this would be lovely scooped into a graham cracker crust for an ice cream pie.  Take a look at my Coffee Fudge Ice Cream Pie for inspiration, though I’d probably just top the pumpkin ice cream pie with a little whipped cream.

Variations

If you’d really like to get serious about homemade ice cream, I’d recommend her book.  It’s filled with delicious recipes for ice cream, sorbet and frozen yogurt and more info on the theory than I give here.

Still on the fence?  Then perhaps take a look at my (yummy) experience with Jeni’s Dark Chocolate Ice Cream.

Leftovers

From a food safety perspective you should be able to keep this frozen for months, though at some point the quality will suffer.  I’ve keep it in the freezer up to a week without crystallization problems–then my willpower gave out!  I should note that if you do a lot of extended in and outs from the freezer, you will see ice crystals develop.

Tips & FAQs

Can I use cooked fresh pumpkin?  Fresh pumpkin has a significantly higher water content, so I’ve been hesitant to try it.  Altering the water ratio is one of the things that can cause iciness in the final product.

If you do try it, be sure to drain the puree at least overnight before using and comment back to let me know how it goes. 

And Happy National Cookbook Month!

• Pears with Chocolate Crumble by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pumpkin Ice Cream, Jeni Style by Art of Natural Living
• Green Beans with Bacon and Caramelized Onions by Family Around the Table
• Brussel Sprouts and Gnocchi in a Rosemary Butter Sauce by Jen Around the World
• Apple Cider Donuts by Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Finnish Pulla Bread by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Madame Wu’s Barbecued Spare Ribs by Palatable Pastime
• Tomato Basil Biscuits by Shockingly Delicious

Pumpkin Ice Cream

Creamy and flavorful, Pumpkin Ice Cream is a tasty fall dessert of snack with a little extra nutrition thrown in!

Author: Inger

5 from 1 vote

Print

Course Desserts & Snacks

Cuisine American

Servings 6

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Cornstarch slurry

• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup milk

Other

• 2 ounces cream cheese softened
• 2-4 Tablespoons dark rum optional

Pumpkin Mixture

• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon light corn syrup or golden syrup
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg optional

Ice cream base

• 1 cup skim milk
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cup cream
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoons light corn syrup or golden syrup

Instructions

 

• In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and 1/4 cup milk to prepare cornstarch slurry. In a large bowl, whisk cream cheese until smooth. Set both bowls aside.
• Prepare Pumpkin Mixture. Combine pumpkin, brown sugar, corn syrup & spices in a small saucepan. Cook, stirring periodically, until sugar dissolves and mixture starts to bubble, then remove from heat.
• Prepare Ice Cream Base. Combine skim milk, salt, cream sugar and corn syrup in a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil and cook for 4 minutes. (Watch carefully so it doesn't boil over.)
• Remove ice cream base from heat, stir in cornstarch slurry and pumpkin puree then return to heat, cooking for another minute or two until thickened.
• Gradually add a little of the warm mixture to the softened cream cheese, whisking until you have a smooth mixture that can be combined with the remaining base without lumping. Mix in rum if using.
• Chill until cool. (I usually chill an hour or two in the freezer, stirring periodically. Cooling in a zip loc bag in ice water or in the refrigerator are also options). Freeze according to your machine’s directions.

I am not a health professional and nutrition data is calculated programatically. Accuracy may vary with product selection, calculator accuracy, etc. Consult a professional for the best information.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Originally posted  Oct 2, 2016

• ← Smoked Salmon Quiche
• Pumpkin Panna Cotta with Caramel Sauce →